The Bottom Line has been closed for eleven years, it closed January 2nd, 2004. I think about it all the time because I spent a great deal of my life there. One of the things I'm working on is an oral history viewed from the perspective of the performers who performed there.

It probably applies to both genders. I should start by saying this is not a scientific sampling; it's just women I met from different religions and backgrounds. This is what I found from my own interviews:

Fifty years ago, Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger, arguably the greatest James Bond theme of all, and one of the most explosive musical compositions in the history of cinema missed winning the Academy Award for Best Song -- in fact, it missed a nomination altogether.

It's quite overwhelming to be in the presence of someone who crushes multiple stereotypes, and does it with grace. Misty Copeland is African American. She does not have the typical "ballerina's body." She didn't have access to classical ballet early in life, so she began dancing "late" -- at age 13.